GLOMP
by lazy.like.shika
Summary: When Sai questioned Ino's reason why she stopped glomping Sasuke, or not glomping anyone at all for that matter, he drag everyone to confusion. Post Fourth Shinobi World War. Sai/Ino friendship fic. Saisaku, Sasuino if you squint.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden.

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A/N: Plot bunny strikes again. I'm hoping I can finish it in time for Ino's birthday. Or by the end of the year.

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Warning: I love Sai. But I'm not sure if I can do him justice here. Same goes for the rest.

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Grab. Latch On. Maintain Pressure.

**Prologue**

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Sai stared at Naruto as the jinchuriki had been in deep thought as soon as the wave of his excitement half an hour ago had died down. He and Sakura had been watching Sasuke and Naruto spar at the Third training ground when two of the former Team 10 came earlier. The pineapple-head and Ms. Beautiful informed them that the Hidden Villages had come to an agreement to hold the Chunin Examination a year earlier than scheduled. Due to a big number of war casualties, the villages are in dire need of new batches of shinobis to function properly.

Konoha would definitely benefit from it. They're so short in staff that the Hokage had given out double missions to fresh batch of genins, promoted all the chunins who participated and survived the war to jonins, recruited almost a quarter of willing jonins who served well at the war to ANBU and even ended up sending out Kakashi-sensei as one of the representatives to post-war meetings.

And since Naruto's still a genin officially, he was so overjoyed he sounded like the green clad shit-eyebrows for a while. Sasuke was happy as well if you'd considered the miniscule upward tug of his lips as a smile. He's still a genin too and one of the conditions that the ex-avenger had to agree on before he was released from prison was he had to pass the Chunin Exam before he can be sent out to missions.

Naruto and Sasuke's spar never resumed after that. Sakura was silently sitting closely beside Sasuke who's cleaning his sword while the usual blabber mouth had been silent for the past ten minutes now. Sai would usually welcome the comfortable silence but it's been weeks since he last saw his former team. He was recruited by the grandma-Hokage to ANBU and was placed in a team with the stoic face Neji Hyuga and Captain Yamato. The dynamic of that team was different. It's more matured compared to Team Kakashi.

Calmness was a natural part of it. Truth be told, he missed Naruto's loud mouth, Sakura's nagging and Kakashi-sensei's laziness. Plus he's still very curious to see Sasuke's bond with the team.

"Naruto," Sai called. "What are you thinking?"

The blonde looked at him. "There's something different."

"With what?"

"I can't really pinpoint it." Naruto sighed. He plopped down on the grass with a thud. "I feel there's something different when we see Ino. There's something missing."

"How is it different, Naruto?" Sai asked. He tried to remember the times when they met Ino. Most of them consist of the blonde kunoichi always being friendly and cheery then arguing and or gossiping with Sakura. The same thing happened earlier which prompted Shikamaru to utter troublesome a few times. "I didn't notice anything new."

"That's expected Sai. You weren't with us before so you wouldn't know." Sakura chuckled. Moving towards Naruto, she playfully punched his arms. "However, you Naruto, I'm getting worried about your forgetfulness."

"Ne, Sakura. What is it?" Naruto asked eager to know what he had forgotten.

She nodded her head towards Sasuke. "I'll give you a clue. It's got to do with Sasuke."

Sai and Naruto simultaneously look over to Sasuke, who's already done cleaning his sword and scowling at them. "What?" he asked.

Sai smiled, it wasn't often that Sasuke would join a conversation willingly. "Naruto's bothered that there's something different with Ms. Beautiful. Sakura said it has to do with you. Can you help?"

"Tch. I don't know what you're talking about."

Sai noticed that Sasuke's scowl softened a bit. He saw a flash of recognition in his eyes for a few seconds as well before Sasuke averted his gaze. He definitely knows what they're talking about. But why wouldn't he tell us? _To annoy Naruto more or it's because of Ino? _He was about to voice out his question when Naruto suddenly stood up.

"That's it!" the blonde boy exclaimed. He pointed at Sasuke. "Ino doesn't glomp you anymore!"

"Bingo." Sakura confirmed. "Took you what, just a few months to notice?"

"That's not too long considering it's me, right Sakura?" Naruto scratched his nose, not getting offended with the pink-haired girl's sarcasm. "Now that I think about it, Ino never glomp Sasuke ever since he came back huh? Do you know why Sakura?"

Sakura frowned a bit. "She never really gave a straight answer when I asked her about it some time ago. She just told me that she's too old for glomping." Shrugging her shoulders, she smiled. "But I guess that's good because she's not annoying Sasuke anymore."

"One less competition for you, you mean." Naruto teased.

"I don't mean it like that!" Sakura stammered, her face starting to become the same color of her hair.

She raised her hands into a punching stance, making Naruto raised his arms in surrender. "Of course you didn't mean that!"

"Good." Situating herself in the middle of them four, Sakura smiled.

Sensing that the bantering was over for now, Sai took out a small pocket-book from his bag.

"Whatcha got there Sai?" Naruto asked before he plopped down to the grass again. This time nearer Sasuke's side.

"It's a dictionary." He smiled towards Sakura. "It's the hag's gift."

The kunoichi just rolled her eyes at his nickname for her. "What word are you looking for?"

"Glomp. It's not here though." He looked up from his book to Sakura. "It spells g-l-o-m-p right?"

Sakura chuckled. "You're not going to find it there because glomp is slang. I think the library has a slang dictionary somewhere. "

"Is that so?" Sai put his dictionary back. Securing the strap of his bag to his shoulders, he stood up. "Then I'll head over there now while I have time. Bye."

"Hey Sai! I'll go with you. I want to know what slang is!"

"Naruto baka!"

"Dobe."

Yes, Sai missed this. He won't admit it out loud though.

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Prologue End

August 7. 2012


	2. The Beginning of Something

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden

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A/N: This proves that I won't be able to complete the story in time for Ino's birthday T-T

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Warning: Please excuse the bad grammars and tenses. And OC-ness of characters (but I hope it's only to a minimum).

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Grab. Latch On. Maintain Pressure

**The Beginning of Something**

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"Finally," Ino exclaimed as she placed a stack of folders on Ibiki's table. When she's satisfied that everything's in place and not crooked, she made her way towards the locker area to gather her things before going home. She frowned when she remembered the uneaten food that she brought for lunch. Closing her locker, she decided she'll treat herself to a good dinner at Shushuya.

Working for the Konoha Intelligence Division wasn't her childhood dream. But after witnessing her father and his friends' spar one day when she was seven, she changed her mind. She wanted to be a cool ninja like her dad. Of course she wanted to protect the village as well. But that didn't come as a priority until she became a genin and was grouped with Team 10.

The ill-fated circumstances that Konoha underwent only strengthened her desire. She will protect the village the best way she can with her life. And working for the Intelligence Division maximizes her abilities to do that. Ever since she started working, she'd been proving everyone – even to her own father – that she's just not Inoichi's daughter. And so far she'd been successful doing that. No one questioned Ibiki when he officially made Ino Yamanaka his apprentice.

Walking out of the building, she smiled as she felt the setting sun's warmth on her face. One of the cons from her work is that she's mostly stuck inside the building unless there's a mission requiring her rank. She dare say that she do miss going out to missions more, especially with her old team.

She looks to her side when she heard something landed. Her smile got bigger when she saw who it was. "Sai!"

"Miss beautiful." He greeted back. He's wearing his civilian clothes and carrying his sketchbook in one hand.

Ino would've appreciated the nickname if she hadn't discovered the meaning behind it a few months ago. But it's been awhile since the painter last called her that so she let it passed. "Hello Sai."

"I was hoping you could clarify some things for me," Sai said as he moved closer to her.

"About what?" she asked.

"Glomping."

He had this smile on his face and Ino is sure that it's genuine. Though she's somewhat apprehensive with the glint behind Sai's eyes. People always assume that if you're working for the Intelligence Division, you can read everyone's emotions like an open book. Sure they can interpret body languages more precisely compared to others but that doesn't mean that they can know what they're actually thinking. Plus there's still about thirty percent for misinterpretation.

Unless they use their ninjutsus. Which she can't use on Sai now. Next best thing is to ask him. "What about it?"

He wasn't able to answer as the blonde's stomach growled loudly. Sai looked questioningly at her stomach then back to her face. Ino laughed at herself. "Can it wait for a while? I missed lunch and I'm starving. Do you want to join me for dinner?"

"Just the two of us?" Sai asked slowly.

She raised her eyebrow in question. "Yeah. Is there a problem?" Without waiting for his answer, she drags him towards Shushuya. He had her hook at glomping. There's no way she's letting him go without knowing what he wants.

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"I've been craving Chinese since this morning." Ino said in between bites. "Tenten's fault for making me addicted to it." Although Shushuya is popularly known for their own brand of saké, their large-platter delicious foods are what families come here for.

"It is delicious." Sai replied after finishing his sixth yakitori stick. He paused for a bit before adding, "Um so is this like a date or something?"

She was lucky that she just finished drinking her water or she would've sputtered it when she laughed. "Dear Sai. You don't have to be dating for two people to have dinner together."

"Oh, okay." He grabbed another stick of yakitori to eat.

Sai sounded relieved. Too relieved for Ino's taste. "You sound so pleased that it's not a date."

He looked up from his halfway eaten stick. "Shouldn't I? You should as well but you know ahead that it's not a date so I guess it's just me."

Sometime she forgets that Sai's still adjusting to the common life. Now that she thought about it, he's back in ANBU where he needs to be invincible again. She stopped herself from frowning and took it upon herself to give some pointers to Sai when dealing with women. "I feel insulted Sai. No girl would want to hear a guy not wanting to date her."

"Really? I'm sorry then." He looked at her sincerely and put his clean stick on his plate. He seemed to think thoughtfully before talking again. "Can I ask you about glomping now?"

"Sure. What about it?" Ino shrugged. She pushed her plate a little away from her. A habit she got that means she's done eating.

"Everything." Sai frowned a bit, bringing his hand to his chin. "You see, I tried looking for it at the slang dictionary like what Sakura told me."

"And what did it say?"

"It says that glomp is the action of one person lovingly attacking another with a hug."

"I think the dictionary did a good job defining it. It literally means that way."

"I see."

Tilting his head to the side, Ino thought Sai looks adorable looking so serious as if they're discussing an S-rank mission. Thinking back now, this is the first time that it's only the two of them hanging out. No wonder Sai thought it might be a date.

"When will you see your teammates again? I'd like to see how glomp is actually done for reference."

Ino shook her head. "No, I don't glomp those two."

"Why?" Sai curiously asked. "Not even Shikamaru?"

"Definitely not Shika." Ino chuckled. "Too dangerous because sometimes he's sleeping."

"How about Fatso?"

"Never addressed Choji with that if you still want to live." Ino warned him sternly. Again. "Anyway, he's always eating. I don't want to choke him or something."

Ino thought he was done asking but then Sai spoke up again. "Bushy-brows?"

This time Ino wasn't lucky as she sputtered water from her mouth. Sai stood up but she waved her hand on him. "I'm okay," she said as she wiped her face and checks her clothes. When she's sure she's dry, she look back to Sai. "If you're talking about Lee, he's too hyperactive to stay in one place. And I rarely see him not walking upside down."

"Stoic face Hyuga?"

_Stoic face Hyuga?_ If this is a different situation, Ino would've asked what Neji's reaction was when Sai first called him that. It would not have been stoic for sure. "He's always formal. And I'm afraid."

"Of Neji?"

She smirked at Sai. "More on what will Tenten do to me if I glomp her boyfriend."

"Ugly bun?" Sai paused before adding, "I guess the fear is valid. I've read in some books how jealous lovers react. How about Naruto?"

"Hm. He was gone for two years."

"How about bug-boy?"

_'Is he going to name every male in Konoha?'_ Ino thought. "Okay, Shino? Let's see. Duh. His bugs."

"Mutt boy?" Sai asked next.

"He can smell me from a far." He was talking about Kiba right? Then she added "And he's always riding Akamaru."

"How about Kakashi-senpai? Your former sensei? The older bushy - "

"Okay Sai, stopped." Ino hold both of her hands up. "Glomping the senseis sound inappropriate. But I do love hugging Asuma once in a while."

"Hm." Sai started, crossing his arms in front of him. "So does that apply to anyone older than you? Like your boss Ibiki?"

"We're going to be here all night if you're planning to name every person we know." Ino groaned. "Actually I don't glomp anyone except my daddy and…" Her voice faltered as she thought about the only other person she'd glomp.

"And Sasuke?"

She opened her mouth to say yes but stop midway when she realized what Sai just asked her. "Did you just ask what I think you just asked?"

"Should I know what you're thinking?" he asked sincerely.

_Patience, Ino, patience_, she reminded herself. "Just repeat your question again Sai. Please."

He nodded. "Should I know -"

"Not that. The one before that."

"I see." He smiled like a child who finally understood something big. "And Sasuke?" Sai repeated, slowly this time.

She did hear him right. "How did you know that I used to glomped Sasuke before?"

"Our team had talked about it a few days ago." Sai recalled to her. "Naruto noticed that there was something different when they see you. Then at the library, Naruto told me about how you would glomp Sasuke and then start a fight with Sakura."

"I remember that." Ino can't help but smile at the memory. Back then, getting Sasuke and Sakura's attention was her only problem. Being naïve was nice at some point. She noticed that Sai was looking at her with a soft smile.

"Naruto had that faraway gaze also while he told me your stories. And so does Sakura. Like the one from Kakashi-senpai's book and the one movie we watched." Her companion stated. Uncrossing his arms, he asked her. "You all look happy remembering it. Why not do it again? It sounds like a fun way to strengthen your bonds."

"It's different now Sai." Ino smiled somewhat bitterly.

"How so?"

Ino shrugged her shoulders. She really doesn't want to talk about it so she just gave him the simple version. "We were young then and everybody changed."

"Is it because of Sasuke?" Sai carefully asked.

For someone who's supposed to be inept in emotions, Sai is surely hitting all the sore spots tonight. "Of course it's not." She denied, looking down to her plate.

Sai looked beyond her head for a while before looking straight at her. "Then how about the others? Why won't you glomp them?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I just gave you the reasons earlier, remember?"

"I don't know but I think all your reasons are invalid." He leaned forward to her. "You're a kunoichi so you can find a way to overcome those excuses."

"What are you getting at Sai?" Her eyes narrowed at Sai's tone of voice. She doesn't like it. He sounded like herself when she's dealing with Shikamaru and Choji's antics.

He leaned back to the chair. He paused again for a while before speaking, sounding so official. "I think you just don't want to glomp anyone at all except for Sasuke. But you're afraid that he might reject you when you do that after all these years."

Forget patience. It was never her strongest trait anyway. Just ask her teammates. Or anyone else who personally knows her. "If you're so sure about that then I dare you to glomp all of them."

Without even batting an eyelash, Sai agreed. "Deal. I've always wanted to try it anyway."

Ino tucked her bangs at the back of her ear. She wasn't seriously egging Sai about it. She just wanted him to stop asking about Sasuke. It's still a delicate topic for her. But if this would stop Sai to drop the subject, then so be it.

Cocking his head to the side, he looked past beyond her again. Then he grinned at her excitedly. "Let's start now."

Before Ino could comprehend what he just said, Sai stood up and did some rapid hand-seals before disappearing.

"Sai!" she hissed. Ino stood up as well and look to her left and right for the artist. She would need to grill that man with proper manners. No one should just leave their companion like that. Maybe she could ask the Hokage to let Sai take some civilian lessons from Suzume-sensei.

Turning around, Ino smiled when he saw Choji seated at one of the tables near the entrance. Choji would always eat out at least once a week whether he's alone or not. Mostly alone though because he uses it as his down time.

Temporarily forgetting about Sai, she quickly made her way towards his teammate to say hi. A server just placed about four plates of different foods on his table, all looking delicious. He looks really excited to taste it. She was about to cry out his name when Choji was suddenly knocked down to the ground by a black blur.

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Chapter 1 End

September 20, 2012

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I'd love to hear what you think about this chapter :)

Happy early birthday to Ino (23) and Shikamaru (22)!


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